


The Moon and the Sunflower

by dreyars



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-06
Updated: 2014-10-06
Packaged: 2018-02-20 01:55:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2410694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreyars/pseuds/dreyars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>And so it goes.</p>
<p>The sunflower turns its face towards the sun, searching for the warmth of the rays beating down from the sky above.</p>
<p>The sunflower turns its face away from the moon, following the sun as it traces a path across the sky, never seeing the moon following in its path behind it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Moon and the Sunflower

And so it goes.

The sunflower turns its face towards the sun, searching for the warmth of the rays beating down from the sky above.

The sunflower turns its face away from the moon, following the sun as it traces a path across the sky, never seeing the moon following in its path behind it.

_‘He’s leaving me behind.’_

That’s not possible.  He was always the one in the lead.  Yamaguchi was always the one falling behind him, struggling to catch up or hold on or make a mark of any kind.

He wasn’t even making that much progress, but the fact is that he’s trying.  And that’s more than Tsukishima can say of himself.

The first few days he didn’t notice that he was gone.

Yamaguchi stayed later to practice more, or ran off to that old man’s house to practice serves.

He wasn’t there walking beside him on the way home.

He wasn’t there to beg that they stop at that crummy fast food restaurant for an after school snack.

He wasn’t there.

But he was.  His face just wasn’t turned towards him anymore.

He was there during class, his freckled nose pressed to the pages of some volleyball magazine when they took a ten minute break.

He was there during lunch, chattering away about how awesome practice had been the day before and how much better he was getting at his new serve.

He was there during practice, with his back to him as he focused on the task at hand, instead of standing by his side mocking the others for their futile attempts at success.

It was lonely.

But he’d never admit that.

He would just turn in on himself, further turning away until his shining face was completely hidden.  Just as a new moon did every month, tucking itself away so that you could only see the faintest outline if you knew where to look.

It was quiet, too.  Especially on those days that he would forget to charge his phone, and instead of drowning out Yamaguchi’s constant yammering with instrumentals and lyrics he didn’t pay attention to anymore, there was just nothing.

The sound of a fly buzzing past his ear.

The sound of kids laughing in a park two blocks over.

The sound of a soft breeze rustling through the leaves of a tree across the street.

The moon should be used to solitude, up there all by itself.

But here, in this town, sometimes you could still see the stars at night.

The moon had the stars even when the moon wanted to be alone because the stars never stopped shining even in the darkest of nights.

…then where were his stars..?

Yamaguchi used to be the stars.

He remembered once, spending the night at Yamaguchi’s house, they climbed out a window, up a tree, and onto the roof to find the stars for a class project.  Yamaguchi didn’t understand the concept of constellations and couldn’t find them.  So Tsukishima had taken out a purple, felt tipped marker and traced the lines between the freckles on his arm.

He would draw the stars on his star to help him find his otherworldly friends.

But the stars were gone now.

He couldn’t see them from his bedroom window, not with that streetlight casting a sharp yellow light over everything and obscuring his view of everything that matters.

His mother told him once, when he was a little kid, that lightning bolts were falling stars so that he didn’t feel afraid of thunderstorms.

He was told to make a wish with each flash of light, and that soon, the sun would come out to wake up all the flowers and animals and start the day again.

So what if falling stars and lightning bolts turned into sunflowers when they hit the ground?

That would make sense, since the only reason Tsukishima could imagine stars wanting to escape the sky would be to turn their back on the moon…

And if falling stars turn their back to the moon that must mean…

“Tsuki!”

Tsukishima looked up from his feet.  Who knows how long he had been sitting on that cold bench, watching small droplets of water slide down the side of his bottle before splattering on the ground.

“What are you doing out here all by yourself?”

Who knows how long he had been lost in his own thoughts.

“We’re about to start the last drills, so you probably should come inside now, Tsuki.”

He nodded, more to himself than as a confirmation to his friend’s pestering.  He brushed past Yamaguchi as he walked back inside, the coldness of his fingertips lightly pressing into the warmth of Yamaguchi’s palm as their hands bumped together.

…………

It was dark by the time practice concluded that evening.  A Friday night, two days of rest over the weekend and two days to wallow around and do not much of anything.  A thin veil of clouds covered the night sky and here and there a small patch of stars could be seen even though there was no sign of the cold light of the moon.

He began walking, not bothering to wait, not seeing a point in hesitating a moments longer only to get his hopes up when he didn’t hear the familiar crunch of Yamaguchi’s shoes following close behind him.  Tsukishima slid his headphones over his ears, blocking out the sound of everything organic that might distract him from the single minded thought of being alone for the next two days.  He only removed them after feeling a sharp tug on the elbow of his coat, signaling him to stop as Yamaguchi doubled over in an attempt to catch his breath.

“Tsuki! You walk too fast!”

He didn’t respond, only waiting long enough for Yamaguchi to straighten up again before continuing down the road.  He didn’t replace his headset either, letting the heavy plastic form a ring around his neck.

“I’m sorry I’ve been so busy lately, Tsuki!”  Yamaguchi stretched his arms above his head, smile stretching wide across his face as he bumped into Tsukishima’s shoulder.  “I’ve been working really hard with Shimada-san, and I think I’m finally starting to get better!  I’ve missed spending afternoons with you though.”

Tsukishima nods his head slightly, and hums under his breath to indicate that he’s listening.

“I was thinking we could hang out tonight! Since we haven’t really had time in a while…we could go to my house if you want!”

They pause at a corner.  Straight would take them to the last road before Tsukishima’s home.  Right would begin the mile trek to Yamaguchi’s.  Without looking of signs of headlights, Tsukishima stepped off the sidewalk and across the street.

“My parents went to visit Akiteru this weekend. It will be quieter there.”

Yamaguchi nods thoughtfully before stepping across the street as well, nearly getting clipped by a passing car in his efforts to catch up with his friend.  Yamaguchi’s slight yelp as he tripped over his own feet had Tsukishima’s heart beating in his throat.  He grabbed Yamaguchi by the shoulder and pulled him back onto the sidewalk, not letting go until the lump in his throat receded.

“Be more careful.”

“Sorry, Tsuki!”

Tsukishima turned away as Yamaguchi smiled up at him, the warmth of the shorter boy’s gaze burning his face.

They walked the rest of the way in silence, the only sounds coming from the buzz of the bugs swarming around the street lamps and the distant sound of a siren whirring off into the night.  Yamaguchi’s hand bumped against his, spreading his healing warmth in minute touches.

They ate dinner in silence, forks clicking against porcelain plates as they slowly worked through a meal that Tsukishima’s mother had left for him.  The sat the small table in the kitchen, not wanting to dirty the larger table in the dining room.  Their knees bumped in a way that meant that they had both probably grown taller since the last time they sat at this table together, and Yamaguchi settled a socked foot over one of Tsukishima’s, immediately warming his cold, bare skin.

They sat in silence on Tsukishima’s floor as they watched a movie.  Screams and gunshots and blood and guts flashed across the screen, causing Yamaguchi to press closer at every scare.  First their knees touched, then the sides of their thighs, and soon Yamaguchi had squeezed himself under Tsukishima’s arm, cowering behind his hands as the final scene concluded.  He let out a big sigh and pulled away, stealing back his warmth and leaving Tsukishima’s side feeling light and especially frigid.

“I should probably go home now, Tsuki.  Before it gets too late.”

“You can stay.”

Yamaguchi frowned and pulled at the hem of his shirt. “Are you sure?  You seem kind of upset, and I don’t want to bother you if you’re not ready to talk about it.”

“Fine, whatever. Don’t stay.”  Tsukishima stood up from the ground, rubbing his hands over the front of his shorts as he tried to dismiss Yamaguchi’s concerns.

“I mean, I want to stay, Tsuki.  I’ve missed spending the night at your house.  But I just wasn’t sure if you want me to stay.”

Tsukishima rolled his eyes and walked over to his dresser, pulling out an old pair of shorts for Yamaguchi to change into.  He tossed them over his shoulder before turning to his bed, turning down the cover.  “I’m tired.”

“I’ll be fast, Tsuki!”

The lights were already out when Yamaguchi crawled into bed beside him.  He didn’t question it.  He and Yamaguchi had shared a bed since the very first time the other boy had spent the time at his house.  It was a sort of impromptu sleepover.  It had rained so hard that day that the streets flooded and Yamaguchi’s mother could not make it across town in time to pick him up.  He had cried at the thought of staying in an unfamiliar place, and Tsukishima hugged him under the covers until his hiccups stopped and he finally relaxed enough to fall into a shaky sleep.

Tonight, it was the opposite.  Neither of them were crying, but Yamaguchi wrapped his arms around Tsukishima’s chest, pressing as closely to the taller boy’s back as he dared.  One hand pressed gently over his heart, and Tsukishima covered it with his own, trapping it there to let Yamaguchi know he was still awake.

Yamaguchi said nothing, simply tracing a lazy pattern with his thumb over the cloth covering Tsukishima’s heart.  When he looked down, Tsukishima realized that there was a new freckle on Yamaguchi’s thumb.  It was faint, barely there at all, but it made him wonder how many more new stars were covering his friend’s face.

He turned over, allowing Yamaguchi to pull him close enough to rest his forehead against his friend’s.  He let out a big sigh and closed his eyes as Yamaguchi continued to rub his hands over him, down his back and sides and finally back up to his neck.

“Tsuki?”

Cracking one eye open, Tsukishima fell victim to his friend’s inspecting gaze. “Yamaguchi.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”  Tsukishima shifts, moving one hand up to cup Yamaguchi’s cheek in his palm.  “You’ve just been gone a lot.”

“I missed you too, Tsuki.” Yamaguchi wiggles closer, brushing his nose along the side of Tsukishima’s cheek as he whispers into his ear.  “But you don’t have to worry, because I’ll always be here for you.”

Tsukishima let himself fall, pressing back softly as Yamaguchi placed small, warm kisses from his ear to his lips.  He was melting as he lets his fingers map the constellations on Yamaguchi’s cheeks.  He was so warm, so complete, that Tsukishima could not imagine why he ever thought that the other boy had turned away from him.

It was as he traced the freckles that so resembled stars on Yamaguchi’s cheek that he realized something stark.

Yamaguchi wasn’t a star.

He wasn’t a sunflower either.

He was the whole sky, encompassing everything.  Always there, even when he retreated inside himself. 

Yamaguchi would never turn his back on him, no matter how much easier that would be as opposed to admitting that he had been the one at fault.

The sky would never leave the stars or the sun or anyone on this wide, wide world, just as the sky would never forget the moon. 

And Yamaguchi was his sky.  And he would never abandon him.

**Author's Note:**

> So yes, Hinata is the sun, and Tsuki is worried he is going to lose Yamaguchi to Hinata's vibrancy, or that Hinata's enthusiasm is rubbing off on Yamaguchi in a bad way, but yeah. I've associated Yams with sunflowers for a while and I just needed to get this out of my system. I hope it was okay! Idk man Tsukishima and Yamaguchi are so important and yeah.


End file.
